1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to light weight torque converter devices, and in particular to a hydraulic fluid torque converter with a light weight stator and turbine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The usual hydraulic torque converter used as a power input device of an automatic transmission for vehicles, includes a turbine hub member extending in the axial direction, the outer circumference of the turbine hub provided as the guide surface for sliding in the axial direction of the lock up clutch piston and as the supporting surface for the torque converter for supporting the thrust load received at the front side by the turbine runner.
The automatic transmission for a vehicle should be compact, light, and of high density because it is desirable to provide a multi-speed automatic transmission which simplifies installation in a vehicle, a decrease of a fuel consumption, and drivability. Therefore, the usual torque converter used as the power input for an automatic transmission should also improve the same things.
The usual torque converter, however, is difficult to lighten because of the axial length of the steel turbine hub.
For attaining the above objective it is proposed that the one-way clutch be shorter in axial length and lighter and that the turbine hub be shorter in axial length and lighter. However, this causes the turbine hub to be unsupported through the thrust bearing by the torque converter because such shortening creates a space between the torque converter and the turbine hub. The object of the present invention is to provide a light torque converter which has a converter cover, a turbine hub, a non-steel light washer provided between the cover and the turbine hub for supporting the turbine hub in the axial direction, allowing the turbine hub to be shortened in axial length. To accomplish the above, the torque converter device of the present invention has a converter cover, a turbine hub, a washer provided between the converter cover and the turbine hub, and oil flow passages extending axially and radially between the inner circumference of the washer and the contacting portion of the turbine hub.
Accordingly, a non-steel washer functions as a spacer between the thrust bearing and the turbine hub. The oil flow passages extending in the axial and radial directions include a flow passage through the washer to lead the oil supplied from the shaft center portion to the outer circumference of the torque converter for disengaging the lock up clutch and for supplying the oil to the surface between the washer and the turbine hub and forming an oil film for preventing the washer from wearing.
Therefore, according to the present invention, since it is possible to provide a non-steel washer which is lighter than the turbine hub and can be installed in the space formed by shortening the turbine hub, the shorter turbine hub can be connected to the torque converter in the axial direction without a weight increase, to provide a lighter weight torque converter. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: